Keep spotlight on news
after Sudan referendum
To the Editor:
News media, especially The Post-Standard, must continue covering the situation in Darfur and all of Sudan after the referendum.

The ongoing events surrounding separation and the relationship between north and south are of great importance, especially to the many Sudanese refugees who now make their home among us Central New Yorkers. In December, over 32,000 Darfuri civilians were forced to flee from their homes of aerial attacks by the government of Sudan and clashes between the government and rebel groups. In 2010, an estimated 300,000 civilians were displaced in Darfur and over one-third of the population live in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.

Ted and Marie Webb
Fayetteville

Decision to deny claims
lacked sufficient reason \
To the Editor:
Court of Claims Judge Diane Fitzpatrick ruled against the claims of the Gardner family and the Rhoades family based on this “reason”: “the state had no resources or manpower to correct the problem” on the Route 81 overpass that cost two people their lives. Are you serious?

Gloria Majka
Syracuse

No going back once
chemicals poison water
To the Editor:
Where are you, Erin Brockovich, when we need you? Hydrofracking will cause toxic streams, dying livestock, illnesses and kitchen sinks that burst into flame!

Once the water and earth are poisoned, there is no going back. We haven’t developed the technology to treat and filter the frack fluid waste. We will be slowly killing ourselves with cancerous-causing water for cheaper gas.

Is it worth the price? No!

Sonia Buck
Fayetteville

Some questions about
Liverpool’s principals
To the Editor:
I have a question regarding the story about the principals at Liverpool High School. How does it take seven principals to run a school of less than 2,000 students? My high school had one for 1,600 students.

Also, what does a person do as a principal to earn $400 a day?

Mary Ann Tomas
Liverpool

Groundhog’s Day is
just around the corner
To the Editor:
I heard the new Congress has decided to introduce a new bill to revise a February tradition. If the groundhog sees his shadow, 10 more years of war in the Middle East.
Part two of the bill: Instead of Punxsutawney, Pa., the Groundhog Day celebration will take place in Miami, Fla.
John Kerwin
East Syracuse

One person’s pet peeve
about incorrect grammar
To the Editor:
I’ve finally had it with the improper usage of the word “myself.” For years it’s been bugging me. I wasn’t an English major, but I do have pet peeves when it comes to the English language. Someone needs to teach our athletes (the worst offenders) that the word “me” should be used whenever they say “myself.” “This is a great opportunity for myself” is wrong! “This is a great opportunity for me” is right!

“This was a great game for myself” is wrong!

Well, you get the idea.

I don’t really expect to see major changes, but if I can fix even one mistake, I myself will be happy. (That, by the way, is correct!!)

Bradley Ozinsky
Liverpool

/br/105>Grieving death includes
rediscovery of hope
To the Editor:
Although most of the country was moved by the ceremony held for the victims of the Tucson tragedy, some criticized the crowd reaction and the president’s “failure” to calm it. Some suggested that the cheers heard in the Arizona assembly were more fitting of a pep rally than a memorial service.

I disagree. It is a myth that funeral services should be exclusively solemn. Indeed, after five days of horror and tears, Arizonans needed a reason to cheer, and the president provided it.

Consider the Roman Catholic Mass for the dead. It’s not called the Mass of Sorrow, it’s called the Mass of the Resurrection.

Further, as a therapist, I know that to dwell exclusively on pain and sorrow can actually deepen the depression of one’s mood. Grieving that leads to healing includes not only experiencing pain but also a sense of joy that comes from the rediscovery of hope and the awareness that there is more to life than loss. To regain a sense of a positive future, one must also regain a larger vision than one’s own personal pain. The president helped us to recapture that larger perspective. The enthusiastic response of the crowd was simply evidence that his words were spot on.

Far from inappropriate, the assembly’s (and our nation’s) reaction to the president demonstrated the impact great leadership can have on a grieving people. Wednesday’s assembly in Arizona was exactly what the mourners and our nation needed and our cheering response, far from inappropriate, demonstrated the resiliency of our spirit.

Rev. Michael Heath
Fayetteville

For Matthews, it’s do
as I say, not as I do
To the Editor:
On his MSNBC show, “Hardball,” Chris Matthews applauded President Obama’s speech at the Tucson memorial service for encouraging Americans to be more civil in their political discourse. He concurred with Obama that partisans on both sides need to stop attacking each other and come together as a nation.

Then Matthews spent the rest of the show attacking Sarah Palin. He called her a “peace hater” for publishing a map of the United States bearing targets on certain congressional districts. At no time did he inform his viewers that an identical map, complete with targets, was published by the Democratic Leadership Council for exactly the same purpose.

Matthews attacked Palin and other Republicans for their offensive and divisive speech, but at no time referenced President Obama’s own directive at a 2010 campaign rally to Latino Americans to “punish their enemies.”

Nor did he mention Obama’s quoting of “the Untouchables,” when he told fellow Democrats that “if the other side brings a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.” Whatever guidelines we set for our political speech, they must apply to all of us, not just those in political agreement with MSNBC.

As a free society, we must sacrifice the power to silence that speech we may find offensive, if we wish to preserve our more crucial right to speak whatever we wish in response.

Sam Colabufo
Syracuse

Key is to crack down
on illegal firearms sales
To the Editor:
To all of those readers who feel there needs to be more gun control in the wake of the Arizona shootings:

Guns don’t wake up in the middle of the night and decide to kill people. I know that this is hard to believe, but a September 2010 study by the NRA and U.S. Department of Justice found that gun ownership is at an all-time high, and that violent crimes have fallen to an all-time low.

It amazes me how ignorant people can be. I own many firearms, and I have had training in how to fire each weapon. We need to crack down on illegal firearm sales, not limit sales to legal gun buyers.

I will be moving to Arizona at the end of this year and cannot wait to carry my Public Defender. For all of you who don’t believe in gun ownership and want assault rifles banned, I ask of you one question: When your family or loved ones are in danger’s way, how will you protect and save them? With nice friendly conversation? No. They will become victims, something that I will never be, because I will be able to protect myself and my family. We can talk afterward.

Jessica Patnode
Central Square

Accept guilt for rhetoric
that affects community
To the Editor:
Reading Bob Gardino’s Jan. 12 letter reminded me of a lot of what I miss in America these days! He comments that the “liberal media” were first to jump on “Republican rhetoric.” Really? The conservative media were first to jump on the sheriff in Arizona for “politicizing” his comments in the wake of the tragedy. It really doesn’t matter who said what first. What really matters is that it was said at all. And we all say it!

Our political system has denigrated into a playground argument. We no longer speak of voting a bill down, we “kill” it. We don’t tell people to stand their ground, we say, “don’t retreat, reload!” We tell people to “exercise their Second Amendment rights” if they don’t get their way. We no longer have political or personal disagreements: The person or group who disagrees with us is evil, or Marxist or socialist or a terrorist.

We don’t stop to think what our words may mean to someone who is unable to see the implied meaning behind them and takes them at face value. So while everyone, on both sides, scrambles to place or divert blame, we have to realize we are all guilty! The fact that we say the words at all is proof enough.

We all had a hand in putting that finger to the trigger and we all must face, hard as it is, that we all verbally walked that person to the scene of the tragedy. Maybe it’s time we stop!

Robert Steingraber
Syracuse

All Saints Elementary
good choice for family
To the Editor:
The closing of another Catholic school is disheartening. It’s a sign of the times, the poor economy and the fact that as a nation, our morals and values have changed significantly.

My oldest son attended St. John the Baptist when it was forced to close. It was upsetting to him and all of us alike. I feel your pain. My youngest son is now attending All Saints Elementary on Tipperary Hill in Syracuse. This is his fourth year and we couldn’t be happier. Although not affiliated with the Catholic diocese, the school does teach Catholicism and it welcomes students of all religions.

It is significantly cheaper than a diocese-affiliated or private school. The student-teacher ratio is phenomenal. The parents are involved and contribute in many ways because they view the school as a part of their family. I couldn’t ask for more comfort and stability in a school. The biggest comfort is knowing that we can’t be shut down by outside forces.

Mary E. Wilmot
Syracuse

City’s M. Lemp Park not
planned for permanence
To The Editor:
In response to Dick Case’s Jan. 13 column, “Under the snow, Syracuse’s downtown shows some signs of life”:

While the idea of using a park as a place to honor volunteers is a good one, the southeast corner of Warren and Fayette streets is the wrong location to do so.

The original design concept for M. Lemp Park was that it serve as a temporary park and lead to construction of a new building in its place, thereby restoring continuity of the streetscape, solidifying the corner and making Warren Street look like it no longer has a blatant missing tooth. Naming a park and building a memorial garden is a great idea, but to do it for an area that only functions for workers during lunch breaks is extremely shortsighted and only assures that the park is going to be around longer than it should be.

The idea of bringing more greenery downtown is good,
but it should not be done at the expense of sacrificing character or restricting any potential for real development. As one of our most unique streets, Warren Street’s charm is that it’s laid out to feel condensed, narrow and enclosed (similar to New York City’s Prince Street). These aspects are dissolved when you hastily construct a large, flat green lot and plop it on the corner of a very dense urban street.

If M. Lemp Park really is a park, it looks very much out of place, is too large to be reserved for something that acts more like an open-air cafeteria, and doesn’t offer anything of real value to downtown residents.

If the city wants to add a true downtown park, it should figure out locations that function correctly, can be used by all demographics and construct them with proper design aspects. Until then, it should not be figuring out how to add remembrances of volunteers, but focusing on constructing a new building in its place, thereby giving Warren Street back its real potential.